For the primary time, contemporary figs from Purandar taluka of Maharashtra’s Pune district with GI tags have been exported to Europe. The Purandar Highlands Farmers Producers Company (PHFPC) has managed to efficiently export a consignment to Germany. The export was facilitated by the Maharashtra State Agriculture Marketing Board (MSAMB). Fresh figs from Purandar is very perishable, has by no means been exported earlier than this.
Rohan Ursal, chairman of the FPC, mentioned the primary cargo was despatched to Pilz Schindler GmbH, situated in Hamburg, Germany. He mentioned the farmer producer firm has been working for the final two months on enhancing the shelf lifetime of the fruit. Fresh figs whereas being a wealthy supply of vitamins, are extremely perishable; their high quality deteriorates inside hours of being plucked. Over the final two months, the FPC has been conducting trials with StePac, a packaging answer firm from Israel, in addition to Bayer Crop Sciences’ meals chain division. After making ready and following particular protocols in packhouse assessments, the figs might be preserved in good situation for 15 days.
Following the success of this consignment, the farmer producer firm intends to start engaged on full-fledged exports to Europe later this 12 months and likewise faucet the Pan-Asian market, Ursal mentioned. The firm can also be constructing its presence within the home market and has been capable of ship shipments out of Maharashtra by air cargo to markets of Hyderabad and different areas. Established in January 2021, Purandar Highlands has been working within the segments of contemporary figs and custard apples. The firm has been sending figs underneath the ‘Super Figs’ model title to seven states, together with Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Cochin and Hyderabad. Sahyadri Farms of Nashik, Tata Trent Hypermarket and different supermarkets are additionally sourcing the fruit from Purandar Highlands.
At current, the FPC has been processing one tonne figs every day, and is working with 260 odd farmers. It intends to increase operations to incorporate extra farmers, apart from inviting retail chains to to arrange pack homes in Purandar Taluka, he mentioned. Turkey is the biggest producer of figs on the planet with 0.3 million tonnes. The complete manufacturing of fig on the planet is roughly 1.26 million tonne.
In India fig farming is usually completed in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The complete space underneath fig cultivation is round 5,600 hectares and about 13,802 tonne of the fruit are produced. Figs are cultivated on round 400 hectares in Maharashtra and about 4,300 tonne of contemporary figs are produced. About 90-92% of those figs are produced in Pune district. Poona figs are extensively obtainable within the Purandar space. The fig season happens twice a 12 months from May to June and December to January.
Source: www.financialexpress.com”